The present application is related to copending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. Nos. 10/259,954 and 10/259,980.
Petuniaxc3x97hybrida cultivar Tedropi.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petuniaxc3x97hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Tedropi.
The new Petunia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Petunias with numerous small double flowers with attractive flower colors.
The new Petunia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 2000 of a proprietary Petunia selection identified as X99.3, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with a proprietary Petunia selection identified as code number PKC27, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. The new Petunia was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny of the cross-pollination by the Inventor in October, 2000, in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia since October, 2000 has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Tedropi have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Tedropixe2x80x99 These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Tedropixe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Petunia cultivar:
1. Compact, outwardly spreading and cascading plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit.
3. Numerous small double flowers that are red purple in color.
Compared to plants of the female parent, the single-flower type selection X99.3, plants of the new Petunia have a more cascading plant habit and darker colored flowers. Plants of the new Petunia differ primarily from plants of the male parent, the double-flower type selection PKC27, in flower color as plants of the male parent have white to blush pink-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Petunia differ primarily from plants of the Petunia cultivars Tedrolip, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 10/259,980; and Tedropur, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 10/259,954, in flower coloration.
Plants of the new Petunia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Cobink, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,012. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia, plants of the new Petunia were more cascading than plants of the cultivar Cobink.